Two bad losses and the Ducks needed a road trip to turn things around. OK, the ship is still not straight, but it is veering closer to the right direction after a 3-2 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks. Gaining a point in the loss was certainly a vast improvement over zero points and pulling Jonas Hiller from net because he looked, to be quite honest, awful.
Some morning discussions with coach Randy Carlyle with both the defense and the forwards, maybe helped shed some light on the situation for everyone involved. The efforts on Tuesday night while not stellar, were clearly a positive step for Anaheim.
Hiller rebounded in net, even though there was a question if Dan Ellis would start the road trip in goal. His calm, steadying efforts in the 5-4 loss to Phoenix on Sunday certainly boosted his stock with the team. Instead, Carlyle went with Hiller, giving him a chance to redeem himself.
He did, with a 33 save performance, at least two of which made the difference in the Ducks gaining a point or going goose egg for three in a row.
The Ducks got a rare power play goal from Ryan Getzlaf at :58 seconds of the second period. Getzlaf, who seems to prefer to pass rather than shoot, has taken a new approach lately. Shoot it. It seems to be working, as he has three goals in the past two games.
The Blackhawks, who were one of the least penalized teams in the NHL, gave the Ducks plenty of power play opportunities, but that was the only one that Anaheim could convert on. Perhaps Chicago saw their power play statistics (11.4%, 25th in the league) and figured if they were going to take penalties, this was the game to do it.
While the Blackhawks did not have to worry too much about being down a man, neither did the Ducks, whose penalty killing has been very good at 90.6%, 6th overall.
Although the Ducks took the lead, Marian Hossa continued his hot streak and got his fifth of the year at 10:16 to even things up. Patrick Kane made an amazing spinning move to pass the puck, while being draped with a Ducks defenseman. Kane still got the puck to Hossa, who merely had to tip it in the net.
Ageless wonder, Teemu Selanne, gave the Ducks the lead once more with a classic move at 16:22. You knew it was going in the net behind Corey Crawford. Crawford probably knew it was going in the net. #640 of Selanne's career and it was a beauty.
Patrick Sharp tied up the game at 5:57 of the third period and the Blackhawks did their best to win things in regulation. Point blank spectacular saves on Michael Frolik and Hossa kept the Ducks in the game. Hossa once more gave Ducks fans a heart attack as his shot hit the post behind Hiller with just :01 second left in regulation.
The Ducks have fared well in shootouts, but Crawford bested Hiller in this one, stopping Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Only Selanne got his shot through. Hiller could not stop Jonathan Toews, and Kane's shot went right through the five hole to give Chicago the extra point and bragging rights.
Carlyle was unable to win game #500 of his coaching career with Anaheim, which also began in Chicago.
Next stop for the Ducks - Minnesota on Thursday.
In other notes: Patrick Maroon played in his first NHL game alongside Perry and Getzlaf on the top line. Devante Smith-Pelly was scratched with the flu.
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Some morning discussions with coach Randy Carlyle with both the defense and the forwards, maybe helped shed some light on the situation for everyone involved. The efforts on Tuesday night while not stellar, were clearly a positive step for Anaheim.
Hiller rebounded in net, even though there was a question if Dan Ellis would start the road trip in goal. His calm, steadying efforts in the 5-4 loss to Phoenix on Sunday certainly boosted his stock with the team. Instead, Carlyle went with Hiller, giving him a chance to redeem himself.
He did, with a 33 save performance, at least two of which made the difference in the Ducks gaining a point or going goose egg for three in a row.
The Ducks got a rare power play goal from Ryan Getzlaf at :58 seconds of the second period. Getzlaf, who seems to prefer to pass rather than shoot, has taken a new approach lately. Shoot it. It seems to be working, as he has three goals in the past two games.
The Blackhawks, who were one of the least penalized teams in the NHL, gave the Ducks plenty of power play opportunities, but that was the only one that Anaheim could convert on. Perhaps Chicago saw their power play statistics (11.4%, 25th in the league) and figured if they were going to take penalties, this was the game to do it.
While the Blackhawks did not have to worry too much about being down a man, neither did the Ducks, whose penalty killing has been very good at 90.6%, 6th overall.
Although the Ducks took the lead, Marian Hossa continued his hot streak and got his fifth of the year at 10:16 to even things up. Patrick Kane made an amazing spinning move to pass the puck, while being draped with a Ducks defenseman. Kane still got the puck to Hossa, who merely had to tip it in the net.
Ageless wonder, Teemu Selanne, gave the Ducks the lead once more with a classic move at 16:22. You knew it was going in the net behind Corey Crawford. Crawford probably knew it was going in the net. #640 of Selanne's career and it was a beauty.
Patrick Sharp tied up the game at 5:57 of the third period and the Blackhawks did their best to win things in regulation. Point blank spectacular saves on Michael Frolik and Hossa kept the Ducks in the game. Hossa once more gave Ducks fans a heart attack as his shot hit the post behind Hiller with just :01 second left in regulation.
The Ducks have fared well in shootouts, but Crawford bested Hiller in this one, stopping Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Only Selanne got his shot through. Hiller could not stop Jonathan Toews, and Kane's shot went right through the five hole to give Chicago the extra point and bragging rights.
Carlyle was unable to win game #500 of his coaching career with Anaheim, which also began in Chicago.
Next stop for the Ducks - Minnesota on Thursday.
In other notes: Patrick Maroon played in his first NHL game alongside Perry and Getzlaf on the top line. Devante Smith-Pelly was scratched with the flu.
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The last time Patrick Maroon was recalled to Anaheim, he did not see any playing time. This time, he is likely to be on the ice and in the line up while the Ducks are on a seven game road trip.
Maroon joined the Ducks in Chicago and practiced with the team on Monday. Will he be on the ice for Tuesday night's game against the Blackhawks? Coach Randy Carlyle would neither confirm nor deny that possibility.
”We usually don’t bring a player up and not play him," said Carlyle. "Now is it tomorrow night? Well, maybe. He will see some action on the road trip.”
In other words, you will see him when you see him.
Will the same be said of Devante Smith-Pelly? Smith-Pelly, 19, has done very well with the Ducks this year and been a good fit on the third line with the Andrews - Cogliano and Gordon.
However, the Ducks have to make a decision about whether to keep him or send him back to his junior club in Missassauga of the OHL. Smith-Pelly is not old enough to be sent to Syracuse, as you have to be 20 years old by the end of the calendar year in order to play in the AHL. Smith-Pelly will not be 20 until next June.
If they send him back to juniors, he will be unavailable to the Ducks for the remainder of the season. If they keep him beyond the ten game look, Smith-Pelly's contract starts ticking for free agency.
"I don't know how close I am to being here full-time," said Smith-Pelly. "I'm just trying to make it hard on management to make a decision on me."
Thus far he has been successful.
Smith-Pelly, who was selected #42 in the second round of the 2010 Entry Draft, has merely built on what he started at last year's training camp with the Ducks, where he stayed much longer than expected. This year, he has not only stayed, but played during the regular season.
How much longer will he play remains to be seen, but Carlyle is not afraid of keeping younger players, free agency issues be damned. That was certainly seen last season when Cam Fowler made the club as an 18 year old rookie.
"I think there's a misconception that he has to go back," said Carlyle. "So there's always this barrier that's put on the 10-game mark to save the organization a year before free agency. Let's wipe that out. We try to do an analysis. Is he making a contribution to our group? He's been a steady player. He's had some up and downs. He's been in some situations where he does excel at if he stays on the body and plays that neat and tidy game."
Having players in the wings, like Maroon, waiting for a spot, will only serve to further motivate. For now, Smith-Pelly is here and game eight is tonight against the Blackhawks. Smith-Pelly's fate is in his own hands.
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Maroon joined the Ducks in Chicago and practiced with the team on Monday. Will he be on the ice for Tuesday night's game against the Blackhawks? Coach Randy Carlyle would neither confirm nor deny that possibility.
”We usually don’t bring a player up and not play him," said Carlyle. "Now is it tomorrow night? Well, maybe. He will see some action on the road trip.”
In other words, you will see him when you see him.
Will the same be said of Devante Smith-Pelly? Smith-Pelly, 19, has done very well with the Ducks this year and been a good fit on the third line with the Andrews - Cogliano and Gordon.
However, the Ducks have to make a decision about whether to keep him or send him back to his junior club in Missassauga of the OHL. Smith-Pelly is not old enough to be sent to Syracuse, as you have to be 20 years old by the end of the calendar year in order to play in the AHL. Smith-Pelly will not be 20 until next June.
If they send him back to juniors, he will be unavailable to the Ducks for the remainder of the season. If they keep him beyond the ten game look, Smith-Pelly's contract starts ticking for free agency.
"I don't know how close I am to being here full-time," said Smith-Pelly. "I'm just trying to make it hard on management to make a decision on me."
Thus far he has been successful.
Smith-Pelly, who was selected #42 in the second round of the 2010 Entry Draft, has merely built on what he started at last year's training camp with the Ducks, where he stayed much longer than expected. This year, he has not only stayed, but played during the regular season.
How much longer will he play remains to be seen, but Carlyle is not afraid of keeping younger players, free agency issues be damned. That was certainly seen last season when Cam Fowler made the club as an 18 year old rookie.
"I think there's a misconception that he has to go back," said Carlyle. "So there's always this barrier that's put on the 10-game mark to save the organization a year before free agency. Let's wipe that out. We try to do an analysis. Is he making a contribution to our group? He's been a steady player. He's had some up and downs. He's been in some situations where he does excel at if he stays on the body and plays that neat and tidy game."
Having players in the wings, like Maroon, waiting for a spot, will only serve to further motivate. For now, Smith-Pelly is here and game eight is tonight against the Blackhawks. Smith-Pelly's fate is in his own hands.
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Anaheim was looking to redeem themselves for a pretty pathetic effort on Friday night against the Stars. An opportunity against the Phoenix Coyotes seemed just what the doctor ordered. Right? Wrong. The team swallowing the bitter pills was Anaheim in a 5-4 defeat giving them two losses in a row.
The Ducks were not horrible. But the Ducks were not good when they needed to be and certainly were not good enough in too many situations.
As was the case on Friday evening, the opponents scored first. Martin Hanzal got his first of two goals at 4:41 of the first period. The Ducks nearly tied up the game on the next shift, a good sign of response, but Mike Smith was solid in net for the Coyotes.
Lubomir Visnovsky did tie up the game at 8:21 with a great shot from the blue line. Even better, the Ducks took their first lead with a goal from Ryan Getzlaf at 14:02, his first of the year. Getzlaf tipped in Teemu Selanne's shot, giving Ducks fans something to cheer about.
It did not last long.
Hanzal got goal #2 just :42 seconds later, a shot that hit Jonas Hiller in the blocker and kept on going through to the back of the net.
Going into the second period tied 2-2 did not seem a bad thing. Then things went to hell in a handbasket real fast.
In a span of 3:09, the Coyotes got goals from Boyd Gordon, Lauri Korpikoski and Keith Yandle. Bim, bam, boom. Bye bye Hiller. Hello Dan Ellis.
"It’s easy to sit and criticize the goalie because he is the last line of defense, but there were a lot of things happening in front of him," said coach Randy Carlyle. "They were shooting the pucks from some areas where they should not have been unchecked. Jonas has been a stalwart for this hockey club and probably our MVP in a lot of games. It’s hard to point the finger, but I’m sure he’d like to have some of them back."
Even one of them back would have helped.
Being down 5-2, not even eight minutes into the middle frame, certainly sucked the life out the announced crowd of 13,240 (likely 9,000 - 10,000 in actual attendance).
Luca Sbisa, not known for dropping the gloves, decided to get a little energy going for his team and the fans and took on Raffi Torres in a bout that saw a lot of punches connecting on both sides of the battle. Sbisa got the take down and the Ducks took the energy infusion.
Kurtis Foster, playing in his first game for the Ducks, since the pre-season Jokerit game, got his first goal as a Duck at 13:31. After a power play had just expired, Foster was alone at the blue line and seemed to be looking where to pass the puck. Rather than pass, he made the right decision to shoot and it went up and over the traffic in front of the net.
The Ducks continued to get chances in the third period and Ellis held fast and calm in net, continuing to give Anaheim a chance to climb back into it.
With an empty net and a renewed determination, the Ducks gave it their all in the final minutes of the game. Getzlaf got his second of the game at 19:52 to bring the Ducks within a goal of sending things to overtime.
Eight seconds was not enough to strike again.
"When you look back on it, the flurry of goals in the second period sunk our hockey club," Carlyle observed. "I thought our team had its fair share of chances. We just didn’t execute to a level that was required and then we got frustrated."
So now the Ducks head out for a seven game road trip. More importantly, it is back to work and back to basics.
"(Monday's) going to be a work day for us," stated Getzlaf said. "We're going to skate when we get in there. Maybe that's what we need. Get out on the road again and get together as a group and fine-tune some of those things."
OK, how about a lot of those things? But even taking care of some of the Ducks' problems will certainly give them a better chance to win their next game. Baby steps.
They know they can do it. They've already put together a four game winning streak. Now to get back to the things that made them successful, rather than looking like the Keystone Cops play ice hockey, will help increase the number in the wins column.
Next chance - Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.
In other notes: Maxime Macenauer caught a puck in the face late in the second period. 12 stitches later (and again, thank goodness for a visor) Macenauer was back on the ice.
Also, J.F. Jacques was recalled early on Sunday morning from Syracuse. Jacques was sent to the AHL after being handed a five game suspension for stupidity on ice in a pre-season game against Vancouver. The game against Phoenix counted as game one of the suspension. He still has four more to go before he can play.
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The Ducks were not horrible. But the Ducks were not good when they needed to be and certainly were not good enough in too many situations.
As was the case on Friday evening, the opponents scored first. Martin Hanzal got his first of two goals at 4:41 of the first period. The Ducks nearly tied up the game on the next shift, a good sign of response, but Mike Smith was solid in net for the Coyotes.
Lubomir Visnovsky did tie up the game at 8:21 with a great shot from the blue line. Even better, the Ducks took their first lead with a goal from Ryan Getzlaf at 14:02, his first of the year. Getzlaf tipped in Teemu Selanne's shot, giving Ducks fans something to cheer about.
It did not last long.
Hanzal got goal #2 just :42 seconds later, a shot that hit Jonas Hiller in the blocker and kept on going through to the back of the net.
Going into the second period tied 2-2 did not seem a bad thing. Then things went to hell in a handbasket real fast.
In a span of 3:09, the Coyotes got goals from Boyd Gordon, Lauri Korpikoski and Keith Yandle. Bim, bam, boom. Bye bye Hiller. Hello Dan Ellis.
"It’s easy to sit and criticize the goalie because he is the last line of defense, but there were a lot of things happening in front of him," said coach Randy Carlyle. "They were shooting the pucks from some areas where they should not have been unchecked. Jonas has been a stalwart for this hockey club and probably our MVP in a lot of games. It’s hard to point the finger, but I’m sure he’d like to have some of them back."
Even one of them back would have helped.
Being down 5-2, not even eight minutes into the middle frame, certainly sucked the life out the announced crowd of 13,240 (likely 9,000 - 10,000 in actual attendance).
Luca Sbisa, not known for dropping the gloves, decided to get a little energy going for his team and the fans and took on Raffi Torres in a bout that saw a lot of punches connecting on both sides of the battle. Sbisa got the take down and the Ducks took the energy infusion.
Kurtis Foster, playing in his first game for the Ducks, since the pre-season Jokerit game, got his first goal as a Duck at 13:31. After a power play had just expired, Foster was alone at the blue line and seemed to be looking where to pass the puck. Rather than pass, he made the right decision to shoot and it went up and over the traffic in front of the net.
The Ducks continued to get chances in the third period and Ellis held fast and calm in net, continuing to give Anaheim a chance to climb back into it.
With an empty net and a renewed determination, the Ducks gave it their all in the final minutes of the game. Getzlaf got his second of the game at 19:52 to bring the Ducks within a goal of sending things to overtime.
Eight seconds was not enough to strike again.
"When you look back on it, the flurry of goals in the second period sunk our hockey club," Carlyle observed. "I thought our team had its fair share of chances. We just didn’t execute to a level that was required and then we got frustrated."
So now the Ducks head out for a seven game road trip. More importantly, it is back to work and back to basics.
"(Monday's) going to be a work day for us," stated Getzlaf said. "We're going to skate when we get in there. Maybe that's what we need. Get out on the road again and get together as a group and fine-tune some of those things."
OK, how about a lot of those things? But even taking care of some of the Ducks' problems will certainly give them a better chance to win their next game. Baby steps.
They know they can do it. They've already put together a four game winning streak. Now to get back to the things that made them successful, rather than looking like the Keystone Cops play ice hockey, will help increase the number in the wins column.
Next chance - Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night.
In other notes: Maxime Macenauer caught a puck in the face late in the second period. 12 stitches later (and again, thank goodness for a visor) Macenauer was back on the ice.
Also, J.F. Jacques was recalled early on Sunday morning from Syracuse. Jacques was sent to the AHL after being handed a five game suspension for stupidity on ice in a pre-season game against Vancouver. The game against Phoenix counted as game one of the suspension. He still has four more to go before he can play.
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It might have been the last remnants of my jet lag, but the game between the Ducks and Stars was so uninspiring, I nearly fell asleep during the third period. I would not have missed much.
The whole game was a snoozefest from start to finish. Unless you are a Dallas fan. In that case, things looked pretty good indeed.
Right from the get go you knew it was not going to go well for the Ducks, who were trying to extend a four game winning streak. Just :13 seconds into the game error number one gave the Stars a 1-0 lead. A simple dump in ended up banking itself off of Francois Beauchemin and in behind Jonas Hiller.
It did not get any better.
"We've got to be ready to play," said Ducks captain, Ryan Getzlaf. "We didn't do a very good job in our locker room to get ready and that's on us. We came out pretty flat. It just wasn't the (first) one. You can't do that against a good hockey club. That obviously cost us tonight."
Dallas is a good hockey club and they were more than happy to capitalize on any and all opportunities afforded to them by Anaheim.
"Turnover fest," was coach Randy Carlyle's description of the game.
Mike Ribiero said "thank you very much" to one of those turnovers and made it 2-0 at 7:40 of the first period. Ribiero is a Duck killer, with 10 goals and 39 points in 38 games against Anaheim. Ouch.
The Ducks nearly got on the board in the second period with a power play goal. Cam Fowler's shot went in the net. Ducks started celebrating. Refs said no way and waved off the goal, instead charging Corey Perry with goaltender interference. Seeing as Perry did make contact with Kari Lehtonen's head, it was a good call.
But it also sucked the life out of the Ducks. Instead of being behind a goal, they were down a man and just could not recover from there. Not that they were stellar at any point, but at least there was something positive to build on.
Perry redeemed himself a bit with another power play goal that nearly was not a goal. The clock read 0.1 seconds left in the second period. One tenth of a second was all that separated a goal from not being a goal.
In the third period, Loui Eriksson got goal number two of the game at 1:42, restoring the two goal lead, and Dallas never looked back.
The Ducks should not look back at this stinker of a game either.
They face another division foe, Phoenix, on Sunday, before heading out on the road on their first official road trip. (Europe does not count). In between, the Ducks get to meet their season ticket holders in the annual fan fest and hopefully apologize for what one can only hope will be an anomaly in an otherwise good season.
Dallas? They get to see if they can make it six in a row against the Kings on Saturday evening. Which team does one root for as a Ducks fan in this scenario?
In other notes: George Parros made contact to the head of Krys Barch early in the second period. Barch was clearly rattled and Parros seemed surprise at the severity of the collision. No penalty was called, but that does not negate the possibility for further review by the NHL.
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The whole game was a snoozefest from start to finish. Unless you are a Dallas fan. In that case, things looked pretty good indeed.
Right from the get go you knew it was not going to go well for the Ducks, who were trying to extend a four game winning streak. Just :13 seconds into the game error number one gave the Stars a 1-0 lead. A simple dump in ended up banking itself off of Francois Beauchemin and in behind Jonas Hiller.
It did not get any better.
"We've got to be ready to play," said Ducks captain, Ryan Getzlaf. "We didn't do a very good job in our locker room to get ready and that's on us. We came out pretty flat. It just wasn't the (first) one. You can't do that against a good hockey club. That obviously cost us tonight."
Dallas is a good hockey club and they were more than happy to capitalize on any and all opportunities afforded to them by Anaheim.
"Turnover fest," was coach Randy Carlyle's description of the game.
Mike Ribiero said "thank you very much" to one of those turnovers and made it 2-0 at 7:40 of the first period. Ribiero is a Duck killer, with 10 goals and 39 points in 38 games against Anaheim. Ouch.
The Ducks nearly got on the board in the second period with a power play goal. Cam Fowler's shot went in the net. Ducks started celebrating. Refs said no way and waved off the goal, instead charging Corey Perry with goaltender interference. Seeing as Perry did make contact with Kari Lehtonen's head, it was a good call.
But it also sucked the life out of the Ducks. Instead of being behind a goal, they were down a man and just could not recover from there. Not that they were stellar at any point, but at least there was something positive to build on.
Perry redeemed himself a bit with another power play goal that nearly was not a goal. The clock read 0.1 seconds left in the second period. One tenth of a second was all that separated a goal from not being a goal.
In the third period, Loui Eriksson got goal number two of the game at 1:42, restoring the two goal lead, and Dallas never looked back.
The Ducks should not look back at this stinker of a game either.
They face another division foe, Phoenix, on Sunday, before heading out on the road on their first official road trip. (Europe does not count). In between, the Ducks get to meet their season ticket holders in the annual fan fest and hopefully apologize for what one can only hope will be an anomaly in an otherwise good season.
Dallas? They get to see if they can make it six in a row against the Kings on Saturday evening. Which team does one root for as a Ducks fan in this scenario?
In other notes: George Parros made contact to the head of Krys Barch early in the second period. Barch was clearly rattled and Parros seemed surprise at the severity of the collision. No penalty was called, but that does not negate the possibility for further review by the NHL.
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October is Hockey Fights Cancer Month in the NHL. Every team around the league has taken one game during the month to focus on fighting cancer. The Ducks will have their night on Friday evening against the Dallas Stars.
The Ducks have partnered with the Orange County/Inland Empire chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) to help raise awareness for LLS. Both Saku Koivu and Jason Blake are leukemia and lymphoma survivors, so this really hits home for Anaheim.
Lots of activities and opportunities for giving are planned by the organization.
The first 3,000 fans in attendance will receive lavender HFC awareness ribbons to show their support of the cause.
Coaches, management, broadcasters and staff will wear lavender HFC ties and ribbons. Lavender is the designated color for the HFC initiative.
Ducks player's hockey sticks will be wrapped in lavender tape during the pre-game warmup and in-game. These player used sticks will be available for purchase through the team's online auction following the game.
Mind you, there is also a game to be played, and it should be a good one. The Ducks and Stars have a nice division rivalry and both teams have started off the season well.
The Ducks are 4-1-0, having only lost the first game of the season. It is their second best ever start and they want to keep the momentum going in the right direction.
The Stars are also on a four game winning streak and are 5-1-0 to start the season. Like the Ducks, they are finding ways to win games.
“It will be a true test for us,” coach Randy Carlyle said. “Their hockey club is playing very well. The important thing for us is to play our style of hockey. Any time we play Dallas we know the games are intense. That physical aspect will be there. There have been some real tough games played in both rinks. It’s a divisional game. These are four-point hockey games and big games within your conference. These are difference makers at the end of the year.”
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The Ducks have partnered with the Orange County/Inland Empire chapter of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (LLS) to help raise awareness for LLS. Both Saku Koivu and Jason Blake are leukemia and lymphoma survivors, so this really hits home for Anaheim.
Lots of activities and opportunities for giving are planned by the organization.
The first 3,000 fans in attendance will receive lavender HFC awareness ribbons to show their support of the cause.
Coaches, management, broadcasters and staff will wear lavender HFC ties and ribbons. Lavender is the designated color for the HFC initiative.
Ducks player's hockey sticks will be wrapped in lavender tape during the pre-game warmup and in-game. These player used sticks will be available for purchase through the team's online auction following the game.
Ducks players will wear lavender decals on their helmets.
Throughout the game (and the entire month of October), fans can text “HFC” to 90999 for a one-time $5 donation to LLS.
The silent auction, held every game, will have all proceeds donated to LLS.
Blake's wife, Sara, will sell “Wrap and Remember” bracelets for $45 (plus tax) at Section 212. A portion of each purchase will be donated to LLS. The bracelet will come with a photo autographed by both Blake and Koivu.
LLS representatives will be part in the in-game activities, such as the Zamboni rider, Honorary Duck, Honorary Power Player, Honorary Stick Boy and Honorary Broadcaster.
The team will recognize Daniel Wu , this year’s winner of the Community Hero Award. Wu began his involvement with LLS last year after his wife, Anita, lost her battle with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. He has raised more than $78,000 for the LLS “Man & Woman of the Year” campaign and was named “Man of the Year” for the Orange County/Inland Empire chapter.
Hockey Fights Cancer is a joint charitable initiative founded in December 1998 by the NHL and the National Hockey League Players’ Association. To date, the program has raised more than $12 million.Mind you, there is also a game to be played, and it should be a good one. The Ducks and Stars have a nice division rivalry and both teams have started off the season well.
The Ducks are 4-1-0, having only lost the first game of the season. It is their second best ever start and they want to keep the momentum going in the right direction.
The Stars are also on a four game winning streak and are 5-1-0 to start the season. Like the Ducks, they are finding ways to win games.
“It will be a true test for us,” coach Randy Carlyle said. “Their hockey club is playing very well. The important thing for us is to play our style of hockey. Any time we play Dallas we know the games are intense. That physical aspect will be there. There have been some real tough games played in both rinks. It’s a divisional game. These are four-point hockey games and big games within your conference. These are difference makers at the end of the year.”
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Even though Patrick Maroon was called up to Anaheim after Jason Blake had his forearm lacerated, he did not stay long. Or even play a game.
Maroon was reassigned back to the Syracuse Crunch after the Ducks seemed apparently satisfied with Matt Beleskey's recovery from shoulder surgery. Beleskey has been inserted into the line up for the past two games in Blake's absence.
Defenseman Nate Guenin, who was a long shot to make the team but stuck around due to injuries to other d-men, was put on waivers, cleared and also sent to Syracuse.
With Toni Lydman fully recovered from his shoulder surgery (much more intensive than Beleskey's), Guenin was odd man out. Kurtis Foster also has recovered from surgery to remove a wire from his thigh. The wire had been inserted after he broke his leg a couple years ago, but gave him trouble that prevented him from participating in training camp with Anaheim.
Foster is recovered and actually requested a conditioning assignment in Syracuse. Now that Foster is near the end of that assignment, he appears ready to return to Anaheim and be inserted into the line-up for the first time since playing the pre-season game in Finland against Jokerit.
And while we are on the subject of Syracuse, the Ducks minor league affiliate, we would be remiss without mentioning Kyle Palmieri. Palmieri was named the AHL Player of the Week for Oct. 10-16 after collecting 4 goals and 2 assists with a +5 rating in two games. Palmieri won the same award twice as a rookie last season before making his debut in an Anaheim Ducks sweater.
Palmieri has been playing with linemates Maroon and Nick Bonino, forming a formidable line. They have scored seven of Syracuse's 11 goals.
What this means for the Ducks is that there is plenty of depth and talent to call upon, if necessary. That is a good thing indeed.
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Maroon was reassigned back to the Syracuse Crunch after the Ducks seemed apparently satisfied with Matt Beleskey's recovery from shoulder surgery. Beleskey has been inserted into the line up for the past two games in Blake's absence.
Defenseman Nate Guenin, who was a long shot to make the team but stuck around due to injuries to other d-men, was put on waivers, cleared and also sent to Syracuse.
With Toni Lydman fully recovered from his shoulder surgery (much more intensive than Beleskey's), Guenin was odd man out. Kurtis Foster also has recovered from surgery to remove a wire from his thigh. The wire had been inserted after he broke his leg a couple years ago, but gave him trouble that prevented him from participating in training camp with Anaheim.
Foster is recovered and actually requested a conditioning assignment in Syracuse. Now that Foster is near the end of that assignment, he appears ready to return to Anaheim and be inserted into the line-up for the first time since playing the pre-season game in Finland against Jokerit.
And while we are on the subject of Syracuse, the Ducks minor league affiliate, we would be remiss without mentioning Kyle Palmieri. Palmieri was named the AHL Player of the Week for Oct. 10-16 after collecting 4 goals and 2 assists with a +5 rating in two games. Palmieri won the same award twice as a rookie last season before making his debut in an Anaheim Ducks sweater.
Palmieri has been playing with linemates Maroon and Nick Bonino, forming a formidable line. They have scored seven of Syracuse's 11 goals.
What this means for the Ducks is that there is plenty of depth and talent to call upon, if necessary. That is a good thing indeed.
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The Sharks wanted revenge for the 1-0 shutout suffered in Anaheim on Friday night, but the Ducks would not indulge them. Playing in their third game in four nights, Anaheim continued to stick to their game plan and held on for a 3-2 victory over division rival San Jose.
The win was their fourth in a row, their only loss coming in the first game of the season in Helsinki against Buffalo. Since that game, the Ducks have tightened up, figured things out and are finding ways to win every single evening. A positive sign for a good season.
After all the slow and horrible starts to seasons past, maybe the Ducks have finally figured it out. The points do matter and you can't always expect to come from behind at the end to make it into the playoffs. It's about time they learned that lesson.
Teemu Selanne got his first two goals of the year in the first period against the Sharks. The first came on the power play at 9:42. For Selanne, power play goals are like bread and butter. With 237 career power play goals, tied for 5th all time in the NHL, more than a third of his goals have come on the power play.
The second goal came at 14:33 of the period at even strength. Both goals were assisted by fellow Finn, Saku Koivu. This was what all the Finns in Helsinki were hoping would happen there, but did not.
Selanne seems to have a magical touch against San Jose, with 49 career goals against them. No wonder Sharks fans were happier when Selanne was on their side, playing two seasons in 2001 and 2002.
"I think I got more points early on when the Sharks, they were not that good yet," said Selanne, ever humble. "Lately it has been tougher and tougher. They have a great team out there. I'm always playing with great players. They have helped me a lot. I've tried to do my job and enjoy this. It was a team effort tonight again. They had a lot of good chances. Ellis was standing on his head in the third. That's what we need."
Ellis was Dan Ellis, who got the nod in net for the first time this season. Filling in for Hiller, who had his share of work this weekend in the previous two games, Ellis certainly did his job as back up. Stopping 41 shots, Ellis was fantastic and a major reason why the Ducks got another victory.
“You don't want to be the guy that loses a little bit of a streak,” Ellis commented. “In the same way, when you are on a little bit of a losing streak, you want to be the guy to snap it a little bit. You take pride in those opportunities.”
The only shots Ellis let in was Brent Burns' power play goal at 11:01 of the third period. The goal from Marc-Edouard Vlasic at 6:39 of the second period was technically a goal by the Ducks. Lubomir Visnovsky, attempting to clear the puck, ended up pinballing it off of Bobby Ryan and into the net behind Ellis. Whoops!
Corey Perry's goal at 4:13 of the third period was the insurance marker the Ducks needed. Scoring his second goal in as many nights, the goal turned out to be the game winner.
The Ducks now come back home for a three day break before taking on another division foe, the Dallas Stars, on Friday night. Hopefully they will continue to do what is working right and build on their winning streak.
In other notes: Francois Beauchemin was a poster boy of why you wear a visor. Hit in the side of his head with a blistering shot from Dan Boyle, Beauchemin left the ice bleeding from the compression injury. He got stitches and returned to the game with four minutes left to play. Were it not for the visor, it would have been a far more serious and threatening injury.
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The win was their fourth in a row, their only loss coming in the first game of the season in Helsinki against Buffalo. Since that game, the Ducks have tightened up, figured things out and are finding ways to win every single evening. A positive sign for a good season.
After all the slow and horrible starts to seasons past, maybe the Ducks have finally figured it out. The points do matter and you can't always expect to come from behind at the end to make it into the playoffs. It's about time they learned that lesson.
Teemu Selanne got his first two goals of the year in the first period against the Sharks. The first came on the power play at 9:42. For Selanne, power play goals are like bread and butter. With 237 career power play goals, tied for 5th all time in the NHL, more than a third of his goals have come on the power play.
The second goal came at 14:33 of the period at even strength. Both goals were assisted by fellow Finn, Saku Koivu. This was what all the Finns in Helsinki were hoping would happen there, but did not.
Selanne seems to have a magical touch against San Jose, with 49 career goals against them. No wonder Sharks fans were happier when Selanne was on their side, playing two seasons in 2001 and 2002.
"I think I got more points early on when the Sharks, they were not that good yet," said Selanne, ever humble. "Lately it has been tougher and tougher. They have a great team out there. I'm always playing with great players. They have helped me a lot. I've tried to do my job and enjoy this. It was a team effort tonight again. They had a lot of good chances. Ellis was standing on his head in the third. That's what we need."
Ellis was Dan Ellis, who got the nod in net for the first time this season. Filling in for Hiller, who had his share of work this weekend in the previous two games, Ellis certainly did his job as back up. Stopping 41 shots, Ellis was fantastic and a major reason why the Ducks got another victory.
“You don't want to be the guy that loses a little bit of a streak,” Ellis commented. “In the same way, when you are on a little bit of a losing streak, you want to be the guy to snap it a little bit. You take pride in those opportunities.”
The only shots Ellis let in was Brent Burns' power play goal at 11:01 of the third period. The goal from Marc-Edouard Vlasic at 6:39 of the second period was technically a goal by the Ducks. Lubomir Visnovsky, attempting to clear the puck, ended up pinballing it off of Bobby Ryan and into the net behind Ellis. Whoops!
Corey Perry's goal at 4:13 of the third period was the insurance marker the Ducks needed. Scoring his second goal in as many nights, the goal turned out to be the game winner.
The Ducks now come back home for a three day break before taking on another division foe, the Dallas Stars, on Friday night. Hopefully they will continue to do what is working right and build on their winning streak.
In other notes: Francois Beauchemin was a poster boy of why you wear a visor. Hit in the side of his head with a blistering shot from Dan Boyle, Beauchemin left the ice bleeding from the compression injury. He got stitches and returned to the game with four minutes left to play. Were it not for the visor, it would have been a far more serious and threatening injury.
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